"Our biggest goal with Eesti Laul has always been to support the creation of new music and give artists and songwriters the opportunity to showcase their work not only in Estonia, but also throughout Europe," said Karmel Killandi, head of entertainment programming at ERR.

"This year, as everyone is tightening their purse strings, we will do the same and limit ourselves to only having a concert for the final. Unfortunately, that means, the semi-finals will not take place this year. However, we will give more artists the chance to perform during the grand final," Killandi explained.

"For Eesti Laul, there will be only one concert, but that means we can concentrate even more on organizing one very good competition and show," added Killandi.

The deadline for songwriters to submit their songs for the 2025 edition of Eesti Laul is midday on Monday, October 21. Before October 18, the entry fee is €50 for a song with lyrics in Estonian and €100 for a song with lyrics in one or more foreign languages. The entry fees for songs submitted between October 19 and 21 double to €100 and €200 respectively.

According to the regulations of the competition, Eesti Laul is open to submissions from individual songwriters and songwriting teams who are Estonian citizens, foreign residents of Estonia in line with the Income Tax Act or non-residents.

The rules also state that songs must have at least one writer who is a citizen or resident of Estonia. However, the performer(s) may be citizens, residents or non-residents of Estonia.

According to Riin Vanni, producer of Eesti Laul, this year's regulations have been adjusted in order to give Estonian songwriters more flexibility when it comes to potential international cooperation. "We can see that Estonian songwriters are actively collaborating with musicians from other countries, and we have provided more opportunities for these kinds of joint projects to be part of Eesti Laul. Including songwriters from different countries provides an excellent opportunity to exchange experiences and thereby develop and enrich the local (Estonian) music scene," said Vann.

Once the deadline has passed, an expert jury will select fifteen songs to make it through to the final of Eesti Laul on February 15. One additional song will be chosen via a public vote. The shortlisted songs will be announced in November and heard for the first time in December.

The winner of Eesti Laul 2025 will represent Estonia at Eurovision in Basel, Switzerland next May.

To participate in the competition, the song must be uploaded to the ERR's online environment here.

A full guide to the rules and regulations of the competition can be found here.

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